County receives temporary use permit application

Fremont County planning and zoning officials received an application for a temporary use permit from "Over the River" on Nov. 16, and the request is under review with the county.

Mike Stiehl, Fremont County commissioner, said the commissioners plan to announce the dates for public hearings regarding the permit at their Dec. 13 regular meeting. He said he expects the hearings to take place in late January or early February 2012.

An official written public comment period began Nov. 16 and will end after the public hearings, on a date yet to be determined by the commissioners, Stiehl said.

Fremont County officials have been receiving comments from the public regarding "Over the River" for 10-12 years, Stiehl said. Only written comments received during the official written comment period will become part of public record and undergo review by the commissioners.

Written comments may be mailed to the Fremont County Planning and Zoning Department at 615 Macon Ave., room 210, Cañon City, CO, 81212. People may email comments regarding the project to planning@fremontco.com.

Comments emailed directly to commissioners will be forwarded to the planning and zoning departments to be compiled as part of the public record, and Stiehl said the comments will not be reviewed until the public hearing process begins.

"It is very important to keep an open process.

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If some people feel they have a special inside track to the commissioners, this is not in the spirit of the Sunshine Laws," Stiehl said.

He noted verbal comments only will be considered when they are given as part of the public hearings.

"We are getting people who are a little angry calling (Fremont County) staff, telling their opinion (about "Over the River" ). We tell them to put it in writing, it doesn't work to call planning and zoning," Stiehl said.

Stiehl said commissioners have an "awful lot of work to do" prior to the hearings and said they are anticipating a large turnout of people at the hearings.

"I don't know if we will get quite the turnout Nestle Waters did, but that created difficulties, with hearings running over," Stiehl said. "We are trying to consider all of that, the large number of people who will be coming with input."

Temporary use permits in Fremont County do not require review by the planning commission, Stiehl said. Between now and the public hearings, commissioners will be reading the Environmental Impact Study released by the Bureau of Land Management this summer and reviewing the permit.

Stiehl described the application as long and explained typical petitions for permits are one page, but the "Over the River" request is half an inch thick and also includes a compact disc of exhibits.

"A lot of (the application) has to do with mitigation," he said.

Before the hearings, Stiehl said the planning and zoning department also will review the request and make recommendations.

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